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Akechi Mitsuhide

 
Akechi Mitsuhide

 
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Akechi Mitsuhide
 
 
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, nicknamed Jubei or , was a samurai
Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial society Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character ? was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau....
 who lived during the Sengoku period
Sengoku period

The was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century....
 of Feudal Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

Mitsuhide was a samurai and a general under daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga

was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of History of Japan. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province....
, although he later betrayed Nobunaga and caused him to commit seppuku
Seppuku

is a form of Japanese Suicide#Ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses, and for reason...
.

in Mino province
Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, was composed of nearly the entire southern part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. Mino Province bordered Echizen Province, Hida Province, Ise Province, Mikawa Province, Omi Province, Owari Province, and Shinano Province provinces....
 – now Gifu prefecture
Gifu Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan located in the Chubu region list of regions in Japan of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu, Gifu. Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendo....
 – as a descendant of the shugo
Shugo

was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan....
 Toki clan
Toki clan

The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki, Gifu in Mino Province as their hometown....
, Mitsuhide began serving Nobunaga after the latter's conquest of Mino province in 1566 and received Sakamoto
Sakamoto

Sakamoto is the name of two villages in Japan:*Sakamoto, Kumamoto, a small village in Kumamoto Prefecture*Sakamoto, Shiga, a small village in Shiga Prefecture...
 (in Omi
Omi Province

is an old provinces of Japan of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tosando Circuit . It is nicknamed as ...
, 100,000 koku
Koku

The is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres....
) in 1571.






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Akechimitsuhideshrine
, nicknamed Jubei or , was a samurai
Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial society Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character ? was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau....
 who lived during the Sengoku period
Sengoku period

The was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century....
 of Feudal Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

Mitsuhide was a samurai and a general under daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga

was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of History of Japan. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province....
, although he later betrayed Nobunaga and caused him to commit seppuku
Seppuku

is a form of Japanese Suicide#Ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses, and for reason...
.

Early life and rise

Born in Mino province
Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, was composed of nearly the entire southern part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. Mino Province bordered Echizen Province, Hida Province, Ise Province, Mikawa Province, Omi Province, Owari Province, and Shinano Province provinces....
 – now Gifu prefecture
Gifu Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan located in the Chubu region list of regions in Japan of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu, Gifu. Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendo....
 – as a descendant of the shugo
Shugo

was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan....
 Toki clan
Toki clan

The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki, Gifu in Mino Province as their hometown....
, Mitsuhide began serving Nobunaga after the latter's conquest of Mino province in 1566 and received Sakamoto
Sakamoto

Sakamoto is the name of two villages in Japan:*Sakamoto, Kumamoto, a small village in Kumamoto Prefecture*Sakamoto, Shiga, a small village in Shiga Prefecture...
 (in Omi
Omi Province

is an old provinces of Japan of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tosando Circuit . It is nicknamed as ...
, 100,000 koku
Koku

The is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres....
) in 1571. Although Nobunaga rarely put too much trust in his retainers, he particularly trusted Katsuie Shibata, Hashiba Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
, and Akechi Mitsuhide. After Mitsuhide received Sakamoto he moved to pacify the Tamba region by defeating several clans such as the Isshiki of Tango.

Betrayals

In 1579 he captured Yakami Castle from Hatano Hideharu
Hatano Hideharu

Hatano Hideharu is the eldest son of Hatano Harumichi and the head of Hatano clan.He was a son of Harumichi but for some unknown reason, he was adopted as a son by Hatano Motohide....
 by promising Hideharu peace terms. This accomplished Mitsuhide's goal, although Nobunaga betrayed the peace agreement and had Hideharu executed. This displeased the Hatano family, and a short while later several of Hideharu's retainers murdered Akechi Mitsuhide's mother (or aunt). The situation was fueled through several public insults Nobunaga had directed at Mitsuhide that even drew the attention of some Western observers. Mitsuhide blamed Nobunaga for his mother's death and at the Incident at Honnoji
Incident at Honnoji

The refers to the forced suicide in June 211582 of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honno-ji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority....
 on June 21, 1582 (Japanese: 6th month 2nd day) exacted his revenge.

He has been credited with killing Oda Nobunaga; while Mitsuhide did not execute Nobunaga personally, he did force him to commit seppuku for his betrayal and subsequent murder of Mitsuhide's mother. When they found out about the assassination, both Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
 and Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
 rushed to be the first to avenge Nobunaga and take his place. Hideyoshi got to Mitsuhide first, and Mitsuhide's allies such as Hosokawa Fujitaka
Hosokawa Fujitaka

' was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period. Also known as '. Fujitaka was a prominent retainer of the last Ashikaga shoguns. When he joined the Oda, Oda Nobunaga awarded him with Tango fief....
, who was related to Mitsuhide through a marriage, betrayed him. Mitsuhide survived for 13 days until he was defeated by Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki
Battle of Yamazaki

The was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan, located in current day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Tennozan....
. Mitsuhide is rumored to have been killed by a peasant warrior with a bamboo spear by the name of Nakamura
Nakamura (Bandit)

Nakamura was a bandit peasant during the 16th century Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan. He was the leader of a gang of bandits that were stationed at a minor village called Ogurusu, which was near the area of battle during the Battle of Yamazaki of 1582....
; however, there were also rumors that he was not killed, but rather started a new life as a priest called Tenkai.

Family lines

The Akechi family was able to trace their heritage to the Toki clan
Toki clan

The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki, Gifu in Mino Province as their hometown....
 and from there to the Minamoto clan
Minamoto clan

was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne....
. It is noted that Minamoto Yoritomo brought the destruction of the Taira clan
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
 the same way Mitsuhide brought an end to Nobunaga, who traces his ancestry to the Taira clan
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
.

The sword of Mitsuhide has Tensho style; in fact, the Tensho Koshirae Iaito
Iaito

is the name given by practitioners of iaido to , literally meaning "mock" or "imitation sword", an imitation katana used for practicing some japanese sword arts....
 was first designed to be a replica of Akechi Mitsuhide's own sword.

Akechi Mitsuhide in fiction

See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture
People of the Sengoku period in popular culture

Many significant Japanese historical people of the Sengoku period appear in works of popular culture such as anime, manga, and video games....
.

Family

  • Akechi Mitsuyoshi
    Akechi Mitsuyoshi

    Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was an eldest son of Akechi Mitsuhide. He was defeated at Battle of Yamazaki by Nakagawa Kiyohide and Dom Justo Takayama, and committed suicide....
     ( ???? ) - Eldest son
  • Akechi Hidemitsu
    Akechi Hidemitsu

    Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. A senior retainer of Oda Nobunaga's vassal Akechi Mitsuhide, he served Mitsuhide until the latter's death in 1582 at the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi....
     ( ???? ) - Adopted son -ancestor of Sakamoto Ryoma
    Sakamoto Ryoma

    ';' was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryoma used the alias as a cover name during his work as a loyalist in the creation of a modern government....
  • Hosokawa Gracia
    Hosokawa Gracia

    ', usually referred to as ', was a Japanese people noblewoman, daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. She was named Tama at birth; Garasha, the name she is known by in history, is taken from her baptismal name, Gracia....
     ( ???? ) - Daughter-wife of Hosokawa Tadaoki
    Hosokawa Tadaoki

    was the eldest son of Hosokawa Fujitaka. He fought in his first battle at the age of 15. In that battle, he was in the service of Oda Nobunaga....
    -ancestor of Empress Shoken
  • Akechi Mitsuharu
    Akechi Mitsuharu

    a retainer beneath the clan of Akechi clan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period of Feudal Japan. Mitsuharu was also known and referred to as "Mitsutoshi," and was the cousin of the famed Akechi Mitsuhide....
     - Cousin